Watching the vote in France

I couldn’t be more excited today! Today we choose!

Well, more like tomorrow at 3 a.m. you choose for those of us in France right now. I mean, really, U.S., can’t you close your polls at a time that’s normal for us to be up in France? Can’t you all vote early like me? I have a lit test tomorrow.

So, of course, how could I not stay up and watch the elections like every other time? I might even help MTV get some coverage on my Flipcam.

I just thought I’d pass on some sentiments from the French (not direct quotes):

So there’s a Mississippi overseas voting law afterall

Mississippi law allows for several individuals to notarize signatures for voting purposes. Any commissioned officer or NCO in the Armed Forces; any member of the Merchant Marine designated by the Secretary of Commerce; the head of any department or agency of the US; any civilian official empowered by state or federal law to administer oaths; any civilian employee designated by the head of any department or agency of the United States.

This is from a senior attorney in the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office.

I already sent off my ballot. WHATEVER MISSISSIPPI. Lafayette County said French people could notarize that shit!

I cast my absentee ballot abroad without the Embassy!

That’s right. (I think) I successfully voted abroad!

I still do not fully understand the system, nor the laws surrounding voting absentee from abroad. It seems that Mississippi makes up laws on the spot.

Me with my sealed ballot - I know my pupils are creepy dilated.

That baby is going in the mail this aft.

So I do have to vote at the French embassy?

Here’s an e-mail response from VoteParis, the voting info site for Americans in France:

The other possibility, which is closer than Paris, would be for you to have the signature on your ballot notarized by our office in Rennes. Please contact them directly to schedule an appointment. You may refer to their webpage:

http://france.usembassy.gov/rennes.html.

I might not have to pay to get the notarization since I’m only voting, but that still costs me a ticket to Rennes on a school day! Time to talk to our director, M. Melin …

If nobody knows the answer to this question, why do they even have this law?

Voting abroad, take two

So, I got a friend to call my circuit clerk, who didn’t have much information. Apparently the person delivering the oath can be French. That makes absolutely no sense, but I guess nobody is going to care as long as my ballot looks official with someone else’s name on it.

Can Mississippi just get rid of this stupid requirement to end this confusion?

Tomorrow I’ll go by the town hall in Angers and see if they have a notary or something. What an adventure. I still might have to pay to get this accomplished.

Mississippi’s poll tax abroad

That’s right – the days of the poll tax for the poor or the black citizens are over, but spend some time abroad during an election, and a few states require you pay outlandish amounts just to cast your ballot!

If voting abroad from Mississippi (and a few other states) you must find a U.S. notary, circuit clerk, postmaster or other person authorized to administer an oath (usually a military official) to witness you completing your application to vote and casting your official ballot. Obviously this person could not be a French notary, as French notaries don’t care about committing perjury in the U.S.